Bread review and question

[Jessica]

I baked the country rye bread from January 1996 on Saturday. The flavor was excellent, but I ended up with a doughy spot near the base of the loaf. I am new to bread-baking; would this be from underbaking or not letting it rise enough?

Also, the recipe was designed for a bread machine. I don't have one, so I used the same ingredients but followed the directions for hand-kneaded yeast bread from another recipe.

Again, the flavor is delicious--not too strong but a good rye-caraway taste and a bit sweet from the honey. I would trim the salt a bit next time, too. Here is the recipe.

Country Rye Bread

2 c bread flour
1 1/2 c rye flour
1 c water
1 T caraway seeds
3 T honey
2 T vegetable oil
1 t salt
1 pkg dry yeast

The only instructions are to follow the instructions for your bread machine.

yield 8 servings

Calories, 214 (18 percent from fat); Protein 5.1g; Fat, 4.2g (sat 0.7g, mono 1.2g, poly 2g); Carb 39.2g; Fiber 2.4g; Chol 0mg; Iron 1.8mg; Sodium 294 mg; Calc. 14 mg

[beccathebaker]

The recipe looks great!

I find that rye breads are the hardest to bake all the way through because they are so dense and sticky compared to sourdough or regular white flour doughs. Did you do the tap-test? When the baking time is up and you think that the loaf is done, tap the bottom. If it sounds hollow-it is usually done. If not, bake five more minutes and tap again.

With Rye, I tend to bake a bit longer, or when the cooking time is up, I leave the loaf in the oven with the oven shut off and the door slightly ajar for five-ten more minutes. This usually solves the doughy middle problem. (Believe me, it's happened to me MANY times! :))

-Becca

[Jessica]

Becca--

Thanks for the tips. I am going to try this again real soon and see if I can get it right. At least the mistake is tasty enough for me :) I will let you know how it works.

Do you bake bread in a loaf pan? If so, do you tip it out to tap the bottom and then put it back in the pan to keep baking?

tnx

Jessica

[SQ]

Jessica, if I'm not sure the bread is done, I definitely take it out of the loaf pan and tap the bottom. It's usually close to being done at that point, so there's little problem either getting it out or getting it back in. Sounds like you're well on your way to becoming a successful bread baker!